Superior Jack Frost
by Psyga315
Summary: It's no secret that the everyday man's American Dream to be rich and a beautiful wife. Though be careful what you wish for, since you might just get it with hidden fees. I reincarnated into a man named Jacques Schnee who has the money and the wife, but the company he's to inherit makes... dust? Like... dirt? And the army's interested in dirt? What the hell kind of life did I get?
1. Prelude

[Author's Note: This was inspired by a fanfic called Cardinal Re-Direction by Blackraptor]

* * *

There are two things men want out of life: money and women. Specifically, tons of money and a beautiful wife. Of course, this is all your standard male fantasy, but when you're pushed up against a wall and asked what kind of life you want to reincarnate into, it's the easy option to pick.

Why yes. I _did_ die and had some deity pressure me into what kind of life I want to reincarnate into. I don't want to go into the nitty gritty, but let's just say I went out peacefully compared to some of the other people who ended up getting reincarnated.

My eyes opened as the aroma of delicious cake filled the air. People chattered about as I looked at what I wore: a simple white tuxedo. I turn to see many other people who were dressed similarly in a formal outfit, all white. In fact, _everything_ was either a white or a light blue. Light blue carpeting, white walls, white statues, so much white that my eyes felt blinded.

"Is something the matter, Jacques?" Jacques? I turned to see an old man with a few wrinkles on his face and thin gray hair, yet from the way he's dressed and that he had an upright posture, there's still about half a decade left before he croaks, though with him giving a punctuated cough, I fear it'd be less than that. I paused for a bit and looked around. _Someone_ had to be a 'Jacques'. "You're not getting cold feet during the reception, are you?" Crap. He's talking to _me_. I'm this 'Jacques' person.

"Oh, no… Just…" Jesus Christ, what is with my voice? I sound like a stuck-up twat. "You ever walk into a room that's so bright you instantly have a headache?"

"Ah, I see. You're probably tired after the wedding. Well, no worries, in a few hours, you and my daughter will have the best honeymoon money can afford." Wait… Daughter? My eyes scanned the room quickly as I tried to find someone who was wearing an obvious wedding dress…

Bingo!

I saw someone wearing a white dress, though she seemed to be kneeling and talking to a child and a teenager.

"Ah, there she is right now. I assume the kids are gonna take a while to adjust to having a new father so soon after…" The old man frowned for a bit before he looked to me. "Perhaps you could comfort them as well." Did… he just imply that I married a mother? And that I married her possibly right after her husband croaked? Regardless, I had to do what he says, especially if he is the bride's father.

"A-alright." I cleared my throat and approached my bride and her kids. Both kids were girls, with blue eyes and white hair, both tied in a ponytail. Were it not for their obvious age differences, I would mistake them for twins. "Hello…" While I tried my hardest to be nice, I cringed at how slimy my new voice is. The teenager pouted and looked away.

"Winter, darling," oh wow, the bride's voice sounds so soft and soothing, almost a complete contrast to me, "Jacques has done a lot to help us after your father passed… Please, show him some courtesy…" Winter? Seriously? Whoever was her father decided to name her Winter? I noticed how Winter, in contrast to everyone else, was wearing a black, gothic-like dress. I can understand why.

"No, I think she needs some time to get adjusted to this…" I remembered a quote from an old school play we were assigned to act out, though I didn't want to re-enact it as it was a rant on how a person's mother was so quick to marry her deceased husband's brother in soliloquy form. However, I understood her grief. I pulled the bride away. "We shouldn't have married so soon…" I muttered.

"But Jacques, my father doesn't have a lot of time left…" She sighed and looked away. "I… I know it's too fast for the kids, but the Schnee Dust Company needs someone to take his place. He figured you were the right man for the job…" Wait wait wait. First… _Schnee_?! What kind of silly name is that!? Also, _dust company_? Like… It's a company that makes _dust bunnies_!?

What kind of monkey's paw bullshit is this? I wished to be rich and have a beautiful wide, and yet I ended up being the proud owner of a factory that sells jars of dirt and I'm married to Lady fucking Gertrude. I swear to God, if Jacques somehow poured poison down her previous husband's ear, I'm just gonna skip to Act 5, Scene 2 and down the poison.

Speaking of, I think that's what I'm gonna need right now. Well, not _literal_ poison, but metaphorical… What I'm saying is that I hit the bar. I asked the bartender for something light to kick off the night.

"Spiked apple cider." I said. The bartender nodded and went off to make the drink.

"Congratulations." My eyes scanned the person next to me. Rather muscular despite wearing a very fine white suit. His facial structure was similarly buff. I got a good look at the right side of his head as I saw what seemed to be a metal plate or even a staple. Probably some retired football player what with the graying sideburns. "I've heard nothing but great things about the Schnee Dust Company, and hopefully you can keep its legacy alive."

"Yes, well, I hope so too." My drink came up as I took a swig.

"You have any ideas on what your first act will be as the new President? Improved Dust mining? Hiring Faunus employees?" What the hell is he talking about? How the hell can you mine dust? What's a Faunus? "Military application?" I spat my cider.

"What? Military application?" I don't think you can weaponize dust!

"Yes. Atlas manages to get by with its Dust supplies, but it comes out of the military budget and as much as I hate to admit it, our supplies are less than sufficient. To have the Schnee Dust Company officially provide Dust to the army would save money and probably even lives… Perhaps we can work together on this, Jacques. Think about it." With that, the muscle man left. Did… Did he just try to get me to weaponize dirt? I wasn't sure what to make of him. That said, using dust for war was probably the most logical path outside of mining dust and possibly hiring some pan flute playing goat. I looked down into my drink…

What the actual fuck did I get myself into?

 **Superior Jack Frost**


	2. Unforseen Dread

There were many things I wasn't adjusted to, yet the concept of this being another world far different from my own was something I managed to get the grasp of very quickly. It could be because I had watched the usual anime dealing with this. You know, Sword Art, Re:Zero, Konosuba, the mainstream anime.

I didn't read any books, but the fact that I lived in a Kingdom known as Atlas and that my honeymoon would be over by a Kingdom in the east called Mistral. The buff man, appropriately named General Ironwood considering how he proposed weaponizing dust bunnies, suggested a trip over to a school called Haven Academy where Professor Lionheart is. From how Ironwood speaks of him, he is a pretty trustworthy colleague of his. No doubt he'd tell Lionheart I was coming so that he can butter me up to his idea.

Though, I had nowhere else to go outside wherever our transportation, a jet that seemed to be mashed up with a VTOL, would land. Nicholas Schnee, my now father-in-law, hired a pilot to transport us over to Mistral. There, me and my wife, Willow, would wine and dine to kill the time.

And possibly my liver. Again.

"My, I never took you for a social drinker." Willow gave a coy grin as she sipped her glass.

"I… had my experience." By which I meant I was a collage dropout who would rather get wasted at his frat house than study for exams. I set down my glass as I recalled the circumstances of the anime I watched. Particularly the subtitle of Re:Zero.

Starting life in another world. Though translations have it be also "life in another world from zero", but the idea remains the same. I would have a second chance at life, a chance to undo the mistakes I made. I'd start with undoing my fatal mistake and working backwards from there.

"And you?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Willow asked.

"What drives _you_ to drink?" She just lifted her pinkie as her lips caressed the rim of her glass.

"Oh, come now, what reason _is_ there for a lady to have some wine?" I forgot I was talking to what amounts to a WASP… probably nix the Protestant part and replace it with person.

"Point taken." I couldn't exactly find any faults in her reasoning given my past life.

 **CRACKABOOM!**

The entire ship shook as I caught Willow in my arms.

"What's going on!?" I shouted.

"There's a lightning storm! I don't know what happened, it just… appeared out of nowhere!" The ship began to tilt towards the right before it began go into a forty-five degree angle. I soon heard a deep beeping. Obviously a warning that- "WE'RE GONNA-"

 **CRASH!**

* * *

I slowly woke up as the smell of smoke suffocated me. I held Willow safely in my arms, though she trembled. I got up, as did Willow… Wait, we just got into a plane crash. How are we okay? I looked at Willow. No scratches were on her. None on me as well. The hell? I looked at the ship and saw a large scorch mark on the left engine of the ship. The pilot wasn't so lucky, however.

"Still up, I see?" I turned to see a group of men in ratty, dirty outfits as they carried guns. The person who said it seemed to be the woman in what appeared to be a black robe with crimson samurai armor. Jesus Christ, this bitch looks like someone's OC. What's even weirder was the woman's face was covered in a bone-white helmet with four tiny eyeholes and red markings. It looked almost like the mask _was_ her face. I held my hand in front of Willow.

"Who are you?" I gripped my fist.

"That's not important." The masked woman walked closer to us. "What _is_ important is your life." She unsheathed a katana by her waist slowly. Goddamn it. My first day as a rich man and already I'm gonna be the Thomas Wayne of this world.

"Alright, what is it you want?" I growled.

"Jacques…" Willow just frowned.

"It's alright, I can handle this…" I said.

"It should be obvious what we want." A teenager with messy, dirty blonde hair wore what looked to be a cowboy costume with a similar red and black color scheme, red being the color of his neck scarf. "Hand over the Dust!" I paused as my mind split into two things. One, the dude sounds an awful lot like Bakugou from _My Hero Academia_. The other was something I said aloud:

"Dust!? You shot us down just so you can get some dust!?" I can't believe the stupidity of these fucking people. Here I am, staring down what might as well be my killer, and their demands are dirt? I picked up some dirt from the ground and walked over to them. "Fine! Here's your dust!" I threw the dust into his eyes. He covered them and screamed as the others aimed their guns. That's when Willow shouted out:

"CATCH!" Willow tossed a cyan crystal towards the men. They aimed their guns at the crystal instead and opened fire. The bullets hit the crystal as it exploded into… dust… My eyes stared at the cloud of sparkly blue crystalline powder as my mind suddenly began to click together the crystal with the term of Dust, especially once I saw the powder caused the men to suddenly feel cold and their guns to turn into ice.

Though I should have focused on fighting the thugs, as the samurai grabbed me.

"Enough! Either you come willingly or be forced to come!" She took out her sword, the blade blood red because of course it is, and held it against my throat.

"Willow, save yourself!" I said as the blade pressed up against my neck.

"… No. We'll go." Willow said.

"W-what?" I asked. The samurai took her sword away from me.

"Good. Vernal!" I saw a young girl with short brown hair, icy blue eyes, and wore a rather stylish bandit outfit complete with a choker, come up to the samurai. "Send a message to the Schnee Dust Corporation and inform them of our demands." Two of the thugs, including the man I blinded, grabbed me while Vernal grabbed Willow.

"And if they don't respond?" Vernal asked. The samurai thought for a bit.

"What do _you_ think?" I knew she was just having a shit-eating grin on her face as I gripped my fists.

* * *

The bandits led us to their camp, though they blindfolded us to not allow us to see where exactly it is. It wasn't far, though, as the time it took between us getting captured and being led to the camp was less than an hour. We soon got placed in our cages and left to ourselves.

"… Willow, don't fret, we're going to get through this…" I tried to reassure her. Poor girl wasn't expecting to get abducted by bandits. That's when I noticed she wasn't really crying. Or looking scared. She just had that coy smile she had when we were drinking.

"I know. The first thing you have to know about women is that they tend to hide steel under their silk…" She lifted her dress just enough to show a combat knife by her ankle, as well as another crystal. I also noticed from the dress itself that there was a faint blue coloring on her dress, as though it were dyed. "I admit, your attempt to protect me is adorable, but you seem to have forgotten who I am or the importance of the Schnee family name." Well, to be fair, all I knew was that you're the daughter of a company that may or may not be selling magic crystals and passing them off as dust. "Just sit back. When the time is right, we'll be out of this place." As she said that, she lifted her hand to show me her palm. As if it was magic, a glyph appeared on her gloved palm as a tiny, spectral bird spawned out of it.

Who the actual fuck did I marry?


	3. The Great Escape

Willow reassured me not to do anything as she prepared… whatever the fuck that ghost bird thing is. Maybe she'd use it to sneak items into the cell until it was time to bust out? Regardless, the only fights I gotten into were bar fights, and even then, I come out of it with a bloody nose and a black eye. These are legit thugs, however. Chances are I'll probably end up _worse_ off.

I can't even defend Willow, though she didn't even seem to mind. I thought back to the crystal that Willow threw and how it exploded into dust. Obviously, I wanted to ask Willow about it, but given how there was a butch lady standing just within earshot of us, I decided not to speak up lest I compromise the escape.

Hours passed before Willow tapped my shoulder.

"I'm ready when you are." She whispered to me.

"Erm… Oka-" Before I had time to say the full word, I saw the bird, though two things were different: one, I was now sitting on it and two, now it was the size of a football field. "WHAT THE!?" I saw its massive wings break through the cage and flap up. I heard dozens of screams as the bird just screeched. "WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!" I continually shouted as Willow had a huge grin on her face. I was on all fours, as was Willow, though she clung onto the bird's neck as though she were flying it.

"Lighten up, Jacques! Enjoy the ride!" She said as the bird began to fling giant feathers at the camp. Jesus, I heard of blue birds of happiness, but this is ridiculous! Willow looked around, as did I. I saw most of the bandits run off in fear while their leader just stepped forward. Suddenly, dark clouds began to form. Something told the storm that shot us down _wasn't_ natural.

"We have to go, now!" I shouted to her.

"There!" I turned to where she was looking at: our briefcases. The bird swooped down as Willow grabbed it. She opened one of them and handed me a crystal and a vial. "Chuck 'em!" The crystal was the same cyan color that froze the guns, though there was also a red vial. I nodded and flung them right at the samurai. The giant raven turned around and molted a feather that flew towards the crystal and vial. The two exploded right in her face as I crowed in victory.

"YEAH! EAT IT, BITCH!" I shouted. The smoke then cleared. Outside of her legs being frozen to the ground, the rest of her body was free to move. I saw the mask break apart, revealing a rather beautiful looking woman with hellish red eyes…

Though the 'hellish' part might be because of what appeared to be a dark red fire coming out of her eyes. She scowled and splayed her arms. The lightning storm commenced.

"GO! NOW!" I shouted. Willow flew off just as lightning began to strike the bird. "Can't this thing go any faster?" I asked her.

"N-no! But… This is gonna be my craziest plan yet…" She pulled up the bird as it flew… right into the lightning storm.

"FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I screamed and closed my eyes. The sound of lightning intensified as I prepared for the worst…

And then…

Nothing…

We were up above the thunderstorm, right into the clear blue sky. I blinked and looked down. The camp was obscured by the clouds.

"I knew there had to be a limit to how high the storm can go. Bandits are all bark, no bite." She allowed the bird to go on autopilot and moved to me. She grabbed my face with both hands and pressed my cheeks together. "Don't let them intimidate you… Okay?" She said.

"Mmmmmkkk…" I was unable to properly speak. Willow's eyelids closed just a bit, giving off a seductive look in her eyes.

"You're so cute when you're flustered." With that, she moved in and kissed me on the lips. "Mmmm, and your moustache tickles. Please don't shave it, the kids will love playing with it." She continued to kiss me and push me down on the back of the bird.

* * *

About thirty minutes had passed. The bird was still flying across the forest as Willow and I just looked up at the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked me.

"Y-yeah. It is." Oh God, my voice definitely clashes with what I'm saying.

"It's going to be even better once we land in Haven." Willow stroked my arm.

"… Wait, how much longer until we get to-"

 **BLAM!**

A bullet suddenly struck the head of the bird and it began to disappear.

"Oh dear… Hang on!" Willow grabbed me and took out a green vial. She took out a small flask and loaded the vial into the stem. She then held it and yanked onto it. The cup of the flask folded in on itself as a large needle sprouted out of the stem. In an instant, it had become a rapier.

"What the hell!?" That crap must be impossible to do! Willow leaped off and took me with her as she tapped her rapier against her feet. Our fast falling soon became a soft glide. "W-we're flying!?"

"No. We're falling… with style!" Willow then flew down towards the dirt ground. Just before she met it, though, she did a backflip and landed on her feet, carrying me like I was some sort of princess. "O-oh my…" She looked at me as I blushed. "Don't worry, hun, one day you'll be the one carrying me." I hid my face as I heard people coming towards us.

"What in the gods' names is going on here!?" A man who looked like he could be over 50 made his way to us, passing by the casually dressed people who had held guns, swords, and other assorted weapons. "I heard the students scream about a giant Nevermore and yet I see nothing!" The man had a full face of beard and longish hair that, when put together, made it a graying mane of a lion. This, coupled with what appeared to be a lion's tail flicking about behind him, had me realize something.

"A-ah! You must be Professor Lionheart!" I looked to Willow and nodded to her. She let me down as I stood on my two feet. I looked at Lionheart and noted how he wore a brown jacket-robe hybrid. A buff man stepped next to him. Funny enough, were it not for his red spiky hair and green eyes, I would have mistaken him for a displaced Spartan with his golden armor, spear and shield.

"Don't worry, I managed to kill the Nevermore before it could attack the Academy." The man said to Lionheart.

"Ah… Thank you, Professor Nikos." What? He looks _nothing_ like a professor! At least with Lionheart, I can see his age and even his appearance to be indicative that he studied in some sort of science, but what does Mr. Leonidas major in?

"To be fair, the Nevermore was _my_ summon," Willow curtsied and lifted her white dress up just a tad, "my name is Willow, Willow-"

"Schnee. Yes, General Ironwood has told us of your arrival. I presume there was a delay?" Lionheart asked.

"Yes. Bandits, but it was nothing." I told them. Part of me should have mentioned their leader and her glowing red eyes, but I figured it was a kind of magic, especially since Willow established that this 'Nevermore' was a summon of hers. Also, Nevermore? I guess they just looked at a giant ass bird and thought "yeah, let's just call it Nevermore".

"Ah. In _this_ immediate area?" Lionheart asked.

"Sir, I can lead a group of seniors for a search and destroy mission-" Professor Nikos tried to speak up, but Lionheart held up his hand.

"Don't bother. By the time we get there, they've probably taken apart their camp and moved somewhere else. They're not our problem." Lionheart said.

"But they could be someone else's problem! We have to-" Lionheart glared at Nikos, then raised his voice.

" _We_ have to ensure the safety of the students! How would _you_ feel if some professor decided to send _your_ daughter to a dangerous situation like this?" Nikos returned the glare. I immediately stepped in.

"Look, look, Lionheart has a point! We fucked up their camp with this… Nevermore, so they probably have no choice but to go. Yes, it's going to be someone else's problem, but they can handle it. They're pushovers." I said to Nikos. He just growled a bit before he looked away and stormed off.

"Forgive Professor Nikos. He has a good heart, but he gets a little stubborn at times." Lionheart patted me on the back. "So, I shall set you two up with a room." Willow caught up to us as we entered Haven, for which we will spend our honeymoon.

I pray to _God_ that the honeymoon isn't as batshit insane as our escape.


	4. Awakened Aura

Lionheart helped accommodate Willow and I with a spare room at the academy's dorm. I was briefed a bit on what the place is. Haven Academy, dedicating to training the next generation of Huntsmen. I presume that, given how sparse the continent was that it was put in place so that people could provide food for villages without resorting to banditry. Though, the name kinda put me off.

I was reminded of the Huntsman from the tale of Snow White, the man who was hired to kill the titular princess before being moved by her beauty and sparing her life. My theory on what a Huntsman is in this world was merely speculation. Maybe they're being assassins for hire? I wanted to get more info on this, so, after a wonderful dinner that Willow cooked, I looked for Professor Nikos.

I didn't need to look far, as I found him in a small dojo practicing with his spear and shield. As soon as he was done a few thrusts, he turned to me.

"Yeah?" Nikos asked.

"Um… H-hi." I cleared my throat. I needed to act proper, like my voice. "I'm quite intrigued by the overall concept of Haven Academy. Though, I'm not sure to what purpose they serve." As I said that, he put his spear down and scoffed.

"Of course an Atlesian would say that. Mr. Schnee, the purpose of this academy is to provide the world with people who can protect it." When he said that, I suddenly nodded.

"Ah, from people like bandits, correct?" I asked him. For a moment, he said nothing, then scoffed.

"Yeah, well, that's one such threat." He muttered. One such threat? The hell is he on about? That's when I thought about what wildlife could thrive in the continent. Definitely something big, fierce, and nasty to necessitate guns that look like they can down an elephant.

"I understand. I apologize for my ignorance, just that this is my first time setting foot here." I said. Nikos turned to me and smirked.

"You're forgiven. It's just I'm not surprised. You people sit in cushy houses, unaware of what's going on around you. But… It's good that you decided to show some curiosity towards something like this. I'm more than happy to show you some awareness." He said.

"So… this Academy… Does it also teach people how to preform magic?" I figured to get this question out of the way rather than ponder about the weather controller or the flying bird.

"Magic?" Nikos burst out in laughter. "S-sorry, just… Oh wow… No. There's no such thing as magic." As Nikos said that, I glared at him.

"Then what the hell do you call the giant freaking bird you shot down!? I saw my wife summon it with her bare hands!" I shouted.

" _That_ , if I am to assume correctly, is her Semblance." He calmly said.

"Semblance?" I asked back.

"It's her assertion of her Aura manifested into a…" He paused and shook his head. "Never mind. It's better if I showed you." He went to one of the stalls that held a plethora of weapons and tossed me a dagger. I was able to catch it no problem. "Stab me with that." He took off his armor and revealed a plain white shirt to me.

"… Sorry, what?" I asked.

"Stab me. Right now." The fuck? Does he have a death wish?

"… Fine, but if anyone asks, you literally asked for this." I rushed in and plunged the knife right into his chest…

Only for the blade to barely make a mark, let alone dig into the flesh. The blade stuck out of his body.

"What the fuuuuuuuuuck?" I muttered.

"This is Aura, Mr. Schnee. Consider it your soul becoming personal armor. All Huntsmen are required to learn how to activate it so as to protect them from permanent harm. A Semblance, meanwhile…" He took out his spear and his eyes flashed gold for a tiny second before the spear fired out a bullet towards a large silver shield. I looked as the bullet ricocheted off the shield, bounced off Nikos's shield, and right onto the handle of the knife.

"Ah!" The knife forced itself out of my hand as it fell right to the ground, point stabbed into the mat.

"Is a unique power that is the assertion of the soul. My Semblance allows me to give me deadly and precise aim. It's how I was able to snipe that Nevermore out of the sky." He said. I looked at him blankly for a moment before I opened my mouth.

"Okay, that's cool." I clutched my hand as Nikos looked at it.

"I presume you don't have Aura yourself." Nikos asked.

"I… think so? I mean, everyone has a soul, so wouldn't that mean they have Aura?" I asked.

"Yes… but it requires training to draw it out. Or…" He sighed. "Consider this a gift, Mr. Schnee. Very rarely is this technique preformed." He placed his hands on my face and closed his eyes.

"Erm… Is this technique called 'bad touch'?" As I asked that, he opened them as his pupils shrunk into tiny dots. "The fuck!?"

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." I saw what I assumed to be his Aura, a shining crimson, wash over his body as I felt something stir inside me. Two things, actually. On one side of my body, I felt extremely warm, almost to the point of burning while the other side just felt cold. It was as though I stood in the middle of both the Arctic and the Sahara Desert at the same time. The sensation lasted for a moment before he let go. "There, I unlocked your Aura. You're now able to use it to protect yourself, though you may need to practice it in order to find your Semblance."

"W-wow, thanks!" I noticed he slumped away. "W-wait, are you okay?" I asked him.

"It's fine. My Aura will take time to regenerate, but I think I'll be able to recharge in time." He continued to stagger.

"In time for what?!" As I asked him, I noticed a figure approach us. I didn't know who the person was, but I could tell from the white cloak hiding their features that they were bad news. "W-who are you!?" I asked as I picked up the knife.

"Relax! Lionheart would have my ass if he found out I used any of the students, so I outsourced and hired a Huntsman." He pulled out a phone and held it out horizontally. "So, you know where that bandit is?" He asked. She nodded.

"A little bird said her tribe is moving towards Kuroyuri. We might be able to catch her before she gets to the village." She said. She looked to me as I noticed a gleam of silver from her eyes. "Is he coming too?" Nikos shook his head.

"Nah. Guy's got a honeymoon to worry about. Right?" He slapped me on the back playfully before he held it and glanced daggers in my direction. "Don't tell _anyone_ , got it?" He whispered.

"Y-yeah. I'm tied down, so I can't do any Huntsmaning, hehe…" I chuckled as Nikos rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know about that. I'm married with children and _I_ still find the time for some Huntsmaning here and there." She sounded so nice, but I still felt an air of uncomfortableness from her.

"Let's go. Another minute here is another minute the bandits have to raiding Kuroyuri." With that, Nikos tried to run before he tripped. The robed woman was able to catch him and carried him away. I couldn't help but stand helpless as she whisked him away like a Grim Reaper…

Grim Reaper…

I remembered seeing a woman similar to her after I died. Yes… I'm sure of it…

This woman was the Grim Reaper!

* * *

I spent the next hour pacing back and forth in my room.

"Something troubling you, hun?" Willow asked. I shook my head.

"N-no. Everything's fine." I heeded Nikos's words and didn't say anything about his meeting with the Grim Reaper, even if I felt the nagging feeling that I should.

"Alright." Willow was already in bed. I sighed and went over to the bed as well. At her request, we moved two of the beds out into the living room. The rooms were large enough to be their own house, as they each have their own kitchen, living room, bathroom and four individual bedrooms. However, as a double bed was unable to fit properly into the bedrooms. I hopped onto the bed and laid down next to Willow.

"Well, this was an eventful first day." I looked up on the roof as Willow patted my head.

"And we'll have even more fun tomorrow. Dad was able to score us some seats for a play. It's going to be great!" As she said that, my mind can't help but focus on the robed woman who awaited Nikos. I sighed and clasped my hands together. "We better get some sleep though." Willow grabbed the source of light for the room, a glowing white crystal, and squeezed tightly to snuff it out. I just laid down and pondered about how Nikos is handling. It seemed like unlocking his aura took a lot out of him. The best I could do was pray for his safety.


	5. City Life

It was early morning. I still couldn't shake off what I saw out of my head. I left Willow to sleep in her bed while I paced back and forth in the dojo where I last saw Nikos. It had been almost a full day since he left, and still nothing… I looked out by the road and thought about the woman who escorted him. A white robe… silvery eyes… She just seemed… unsettling.

Could I really buy that she's some normal lady? She made a light gesture about having a husband and children, but I wasn't sure if I could believe her. I knew I shouldn't concern myself with Nikos's problems, especially since I barely knew him, but I saw what the samurai was capable of… If he wasn't careful, he'd be dead.

"Something the matter?" I leaped up and fell on to the ground. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to give you a heart attack!" Lionheart came over to help me up.

"Nothing, sir." I said.

"Ah… Well, class is beginning soon, and I'm wondering where Professor Nikos had run off to…" As I saw Lionheart stroke his beard, I pondered what to say…

" _Don't tell_ anyone _, got it?_ " I remembered what Nikos said to me… But as I did, I also remembered everything else that had happened. Sorry… I'm only looking out for you.

"Kuroyuri." I said. "He went to Kuroyuri."

"Why would he… Oh…" I nodded as he came to that realization.

"He's not going alone, though. He hired a woman. Though…" I cleared my throat. "It's nothing."

"Still, it's rather selfish of him to go rushing into battle when he has students to educate." Lionheart growled.

"Well, he's trying to stop the bandits, so… Not exactly selfish. I mean, they're students and the Huntsman he hired seems to be fully capable of handling herself." I had a pause. _Was_ she? I mean, she looks pretty intimidating, but with her overall kind nature and the fact that she has kids… I didn't get a look at her hair but all she needs is a side ponytail to truly seal her fate. "Question… I know it's a weird one, but…" Well, if anime has taught me anything, it's that weird eyes are indicators of power. "Are eye colors an indication for any sort of Semblance?"

"Depends. Why do you ask?" Leo tilted his head.

"Well…" I then remembered the flames coming from the samurai's eyes. "I remember the leader of the bandits had red eyes." Leo took a moment.

"Hmm… No… I doubt it. If anything, she seems to be red with anger, especially with how you managed to escape." He chortled. I cracked a smile.

"Ah, so I'm guessing silver isn't an indicator either?" His chortling went to dead silence.

"Silver?" The way he lit up caused chills up my spine.

"Y-yeah… The Huntsmen. She had silver eyes." Lionheart looked sternly at me.

"I see… Well, don't worry yourself too much about it. I'll have someone retrieve Nikos before he gets himself hurt." That kinda causes alarm. You don't just freak out at a color then tell me to calm down. Yet… I feel like I could trust him. Besides, I have a wife to entertain…

"Very well… Thank you." I said to him.

"No, I should be thanking _you_. Nikos's heart is in the right place… We just need to place his _head_ in the right place too." With that, he left as I exhaled.

I got back to bed and slept peacefully knowing that Nikos would be safe.

* * *

 **Smooch…**

"Morning, sweetheart…" I woke up as Willow rested on top of my body. I blushed… This was what I had wanted all of my life. I patted Willow on the head and smiled.

"Morning, honey." We shared a kiss and proceeded to get dressed.

* * *

After we got ourselves ready, we waved goodbye to Haven Academy and I had placed my hopes in Lionheart finding and rescuing Nikos before things go horrific. We wandered out into the city of Mistral.

"So, think we'll come across any danger on our way to the play?" Willow asked, giving her trademark coy smile.

"W-what!? What makes you think that?" I asked her.

"Mistral's a pretty seedy place, after all…" With a slow grin, she chuckled. "Of course, if you go low enough. The higher levels are pretty nice, all things considered."

"And… the play is on the high levels?" I asked.

"Yep." I sighed in relief.

"Good…" We had a whole day to kill prior to the play, so our aim was to pick as many distractions as we could.

* * *

The very first thing we got was lunch. Dinner was to be served during the play, so all we had to worry about was what to eat _now_. The area we were in was akin to Chinatown. Paper lanterns, people bustling about, so I figured we could probably do some sushi or ramen.

Sure enough, I saw an old, Asian looking man who was at a stall. I waved to him and sat down.

"Huh, I'm surprised you'd pick something so… cheap." As Willow said that, the man glared at her.

"It's the first thing I thought of… What? You want something else?" I asked. Willow just looked up at the menu for a bit.

"Eh, I've grown bored of five-star meals. I wanna try something down to earth. A bowl of ramen and some sake, please." Willow said.

"That's sa- _kay_ …" He muttered. He looked to me.

"Ramen as well. N-no sake." I chuckled.

"That'll be twenty-five Lien." Lien? Guessing that's money. I reached into my wallet and noticed the banknotes I had. Well, they _looked_ like banknotes, almost akin to Monopoly money, but when I took one out, I noticed it was as thick as a credit card. Not only that, but it had the black stripe of one. I looked at it and just blinked.

"Honey?" I snapped out of it and handed the card over to the shopkeep. "You just gave him a hundred Lien?" She whispered. I looked back to her. Shit! What do I say? I can't just tell her that this is my first time looking at what is allegedly the currency of this world! The shopkeep handed the card back to me as I had noticed the card went from a red to a slight purple hue. Unable to ask what was up with the coloring, I placed it back in my wallet and thanked the man. I sat with Willow as the man handed us our bowls, though in Willow's case, it was two, with the second being smaller and containing the sake.

As we ate, I thought about Haven. I also thought about the bandits we escaped. I looked around at the city. If bandits were to raid this place, they would need someone to protect them.

" _To have the Schnee Dust Company officially provide Dust to the army would save money and probably even lives…_ " I thought back to Ironwood's words. As I finished slurping up my forkful of noodles, I looked to Willow.

"Hey… A crazy question but… You know General Ironwood?" I asked her.

"Yeah. He's a great soldier. Why do you ask?" I took another fork of noodles, significantly smaller than the last.

"What would you and your father think of a possible partnership with him?" I said before consuming the noodles.

"Hmm… Well, it might reflect poorly on the Schnee family name in the eyes of more… pacifistic people." I sighed.

"I know. I know. But…" I looked at the city again and imagined how it would be if the samurai ever turned her burning red eyes to Mistral. I had to convince her. "Think of it as a bond. We pay the military in Dust and they can use that Dust to help others. A wise man once said that with each bond you buy, you put a bullet in your best man's gun." Willow sipped a bit of her sake.

"And what if they use the Dust to hurt people? I trust Ironwood wouldn't do that, but peace is like glass… very fragile. Give someone enough power and they might see fit to smash it. That will reflect poorly on us." Willow frowned.

"…" I couldn't help but agree. I had no idea of the political tension that Atlas has. I don't even know what other Kingdoms there are outside of Mistral and Atlas. And what about the countries not qualified as Kingdoms? That's when I thought of something… Haven. "Willow, you're right. I'm going to have a meeting with him once we get back to Atlas. I'll make sure he'll use Dust for good." I said.

"Thank you." Willow kissed my hand. We soon finished our noodles and continued our day.

* * *

We continued through the city when I came across a shop. There, tons of swords, axes, spears, bows, and other assorted weapons laid out on the front of the shop's display window. Most of them looked intrinsically designed, though I eyed a large, silver shield with five indentations arranged around it like points on a pentagon. There was a platinum bevel on the shield that outlined the indentations. It looked fancy and intricate, almost like a snowflake caught in a fountain of flames.

"Interested in it?" I saw a sturdy looking man appear next to me.

"Oh, well, it _looks_ interesting but… What do you think, Willow?" I asked her.

"It will look great on the mantle." Willow smiled as she took out her wallet. I saw her Lien card being bright orange as the man's eyes widened.

"Aaah!" He began to whisper into her ear. "Careful with that kind of money… throwing that around will catch the eyes of thieves and beggars…" He took the card and went into the shop. Moments later, he took the shield off the display and handed it over to Willow. I could see with the way her arms sagged a bit that it seemed heavy. The man returned the card to Willow, the orange card now red, like what mine was back at the noodle shop. As I looked at the shield, I couldn't help but think of Nikos.

"Hmm? Do you not like it?" Willow asked me.

"What? N-no! I like it! Just… Reminds of something. N-nothing to concern yourself with." With that, I walked off as we continued about the day, though there was a thought lingering at the back of my head:

Will Nikos be alright?


	6. A Lovely Play

The day quickly wrapped up as Willow and I entered the theater to watch our play. That's when I thought about it…

"Say, Willow, what _is_ the play?" I asked her.

"Oh, it's based off a classic fairy tale. You heard about the Girl in the Tower?" She asked me.

"Ah, you mean Rapunzel, right?" I said.

"Rapunzel? Haven't heard people using _that_ for a name." Immediately I flinched.

"Oh, well, it's what we call The Girl in the Tower back at home." I said to her.

"Aaah, so you _have_ heard of it!" Willow's eyes sparkled as she grabbed my hand.

"Erm… Yeah. Granted, a different version of the tale than what _you're_ accustomed to." I prayed that this world had _some_ version of Walt Disney who just takes fairy tales and makes them different.

"Well, get a tissue box ready, because you're going on a feels trip." She giggled a bit as she approached the ticket master. As soon as he saw us, he simply nodded and showed us to our seats. As we followed him, I couldn't help but notice people's eyes drawn towards us.

What drew danger signs for me was a trio of people, all of them wearing suits, with the person in front of the two wearing a lavish purple velvet jacket. The two things I noticed were a pair of wolf ears poking out of his top hat and a golden pocket watch that he kept spinning by the chain.

When we got to our seats, the play was just about to begin. At the beginning, it didn't seem to deviate too much from Rapunzel, though instead of an old witch locking the title character up, it was instead her father, who was almost never seen without a large suit of black armor around him.

The story changed up significantly upon the rival of the Hero. He had no name, but was named the Hero for the daring act of rescuing the Girl in the Tower after a large, epic, and climatic battle with the father. As I watched the fight, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Maybe it was the cool action bringing me back to a time where I was a teen and I went to see Macbeth for a class field trip.

Eventually, the good guys won, though as I read the playbill, it was a two-act story… I pondered how they'd justify a second part. Maybe they had children and the story would be about them? Throughout the play, I watched it with mild interest. It only spiked the moment the Hero came on screen and fought the father. With them out of the tower, I was curious to see how Act 1 ended.

Much to Willow's surprise, as the act ended with the Hero dying to an illness, I reached for my handkerchief inside my suit pocket and wiped my tears. The curtains closed and we were prompted to go back to the lobby while they set up for act two.

"Told you it'd be a feels trip." Willow said as we sat at the bar inside the theater.

"Look, that twist took me off my feet! How are they gonna top that for act two!?" I asked her. She merely put a finger to her lips.

"Ah, that's a secret…" Willow said. The bartender gave us drinks, Willow a rose wine and me a tall glass of water. As we drank, I heard people chuckling. From what I heard, they were talking about the villages just outside the city of Mistral. I paid no mind to them… At least until I heard one nugget of information.

"Yeah, shame about Kuroyuri, though." My focus went away from Willow and over to the group of people.

"Heard it's the same bandit tribe that was seen outside Shion." As he mentioned the tribe, I turned around.

"When did this happen?!" I asked them. To my surprise, I saw the the wolf-eared man was the one who was talking about Kuroyuri. He had two associates in similar outfits. One had a weasel tail and another a pair of badger ears.

"About an hour ago. We just found out on our scrolls…" With no hesitation, I ran.

"Willow, we have to go back!" I shouted.

"B-but the second…" She sighed and ran off after me.

As we went outside, I turned to Willow.

"What is going on, Jacques?" She asked me.

"Quick, make the bird." I told her.

"B-but people will…" I suddenly snapped.

"WE NEED TO GET TO HAVEN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! NIKOS COULD BE IN GRAVE DANGER!" I shouted. She flinched and had a hand close to her mouth in an almost defensive pose. Realizing the tone, I just set, I took a moment to calm down. "We need to go back and let Lionheart know that Nikos needs his help."

"Why don't we just fly to Kuroyuri ourselves?" She asked me.

"The last time we tangoed with bandits, we had to use that bird to _escape_. I'm not risking you getting hurt when I can get someone more capable to come help us." She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Alright, Mr. Worrywart." She took out her glass and changed it into a rapier. She stabbed it into the ground as a white glowing glyph appeared from the area in which it was stabbed. The ghastly bird appeared again as we got onto its back. With a loud caw, it flew upwards. I heard the screams of several people and, while I felt bad about summoning the ghost of Big Bird's past, I felt like it was worth it to try and save Nikos.

We flew off towards Haven…

As soon as the Nevermore perched onto the ground and dissipated, I ran over to the main hall of Haven…

Only to find Nikos's battered, bloodied body laid down before Lionheart. There was another person, obviously twice as large as any of us and having the bulk to show for it. Telling from his torn sleeves and tattered jacket, he got into a scuffle as well. I ran over to Nikos.

"What happened!?" I shouted.

"Found him near the wreckage of Kuroyuri. His aura was already broken when I found him." The gravel in his voice gives me quite the indicator that I shouldn't fuck with him.

"Was he with anyone?" I asked him.

"… Not that I noticed." He turned around and, in doing so, he showed me his dark brown beard and hazel eyes. His glare stunned me and I fell silent as he walked away. The only thing in my mind was to obverse Nikos's body. I could see a slow rise and fall of his chest, as well as shallow breathing. Willow ran next to me, only to gasp and cover her mouth upon seeing Nikos.

That night wasn't spent with a loving embrace, but rather the thoughts of what could have hurt Nikos that badly and the prayers that he would get better.


	7. Departing Haven

I couldn't sleep. The thought of Nikos dying was enough to send my heart and brain into overdrive. In cases like these, my reptilian brain took over and I turned to the one thing I'd do during a sleepless night:

Study.

In particular, the very essence that Nikos gave me. I spent the past 15 minutes in a library with my nose deep into one book; a basic guide to Aura. It also gave me a crash course on Semblances, namely how one doesn't just manifest it from the word go.

"What are you doing up so late?" A gruff voice immediately yanked me out of the book and into reality as I nearly leaped out of my chair. I saw the buff man from before, now dressed in an olive and dark green coat. His tattered black shirt was still visible, but he looked better for wear.

"Reading. I just found out about Aura the other day and figured to learn a bit more before I head back to my ignorant life at Atlas." I gave a half-assed chuckle while he stared at me. He took a look at the book, then went to the shelf to take out another one; a second guide to Aura.

"It's an outdated book. Volume 5 has a more accurate summary on Aura." He dropped it off in front of me. I took a look through the book and, sure enough, it felt as though I was reading a completely different topic altogether. Before, I thought Aura was always active and that Semblances are formed by the personality or vice versa. Now, all of a sudden, Aura needs to be activated and Semblances allegedly have no correlation to one's personality?

"What the hell is this!?" I said out loud.

"Not to your liking?" He asked.

"… Screw it. I'm not gonna be able to wrap my head around this anytime soon." I sighed as the man put away the other book.

"Why were you interested in the first place?" He asked.

"Well… Having came to this place for the first time and seeing how most of these people train, it… kinda made me feel intrigued." I said. He sat on a chair, elbows resting on the table.

"Well, _don't_. Being a Huntsman is far from the idealistic job people make it out to be." He said.

"Even so, I wouldn't be able to capitalize on being a Huntsman. Where I'm from, food's given to us, hand and foot." I replied. He gave me a blank look before he continued.

"Good. From what I saw, you have a wife to look out for. A Huntsman would have to fight every day, knowing that they'll eventually die and leave their loved ones to mourn… If you know what's good for your wife… _Don't_ be a Huntsman." He told me. I sat there, my mouth agape. It took me a second before I realized I needed to say _something_.

"That's good advice. I guess from your expertise that you're a Huntsman yourself?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Far from it…" He took a pause before he spoke up. "My _sister_ was. Though, she wasn't ready…" I could see him clench his fist and I quickly prattled.

"Oh, crap. Sorry for your loss." I said. He released the tension in his hand and exhaled.

"You didn't know. But now that you _do_ , you understand the dangers, right?" He asked.

"Yes. And telling from Nikos's injuries… It's nothing to scoff at either." I said.

"Good. If I could at least dissuade you from making that decision, it'd be a weight off my back." The man got up and walked off. I took a while to look at the book before I put it away…

* * *

I returned to see Willow packing up some of the leftover luggage we were able to secure from the bandits.

"I'm sorry…" I said.

"For what?" She asked me.

"This entire honeymoon is a disaster and I feel responsible for it." I shook my head.

"No, you didn't ruin it. In fact, it wasn't ruined to begin with. We had ourselves a nice stay, albeit with some bumps." She placed some of the crystals of Dust into one part of the luggage. Lionheart saw fit to refill our supplies after we informed him of the situation. "Besides, Father heard the news and is on his way to us, so the honeymoon was gonna end no matter what. He told us to meet him at Argus to ensure we don't have any nasty encounters."

"Do you think…" I tried to find the right words. "You don't think she's still out there, right?"

"Who?" A pause later… "Oh, stop, silly!" She gave me a pat on the back. "Is _that_ what you're so upset about?"

"Well, it's that and the whole Kuroyuri thing. I was told that the bandits were on their way there and… given how it was destroyed…" I sat on the bed next to her.

"You think she had to do with Nikos…" She took a moment before she held me tightly in my arms. Despite me looking like her age, if not older, I felt more like a kid nestled in their mother's grasp. "Aaaw, Jacquey…"

"Like… Nikos might have a point! If she isn't stopped, who knows how many people would lose their lives!" I shouted before Willow held me tighter, muffling my complaints.

"Don't fret about it. There's nothing we can do anyways… We're the providers of Dust, not the police." She said…

No…

There _has_ to be something…

" _To have the Schnee Dust Company officially provide Dust to the army would save money and probably even lives…"_

… I knew what I have to ask of Ironwood…

"Besides… We're gonna be in Atlas soon. She's not going to be a problem to us any longer…" Willow held me as we flopped onto the bed. I decided to keep mum on the army, realizing it might kill the mood Willow had put me in. Her lips met mine…

* * *

Come morning, we departed to Argus with little fanfare. No goodbyes were made to Lionheart and Nikos was sent home for better treatment to his wounds, so no checking on his wellbeing. I wasn't even able to see the buff man off, though I presumed he left Haven soon after my conversation with him.

I barely even got to see the whole of Mistral before I was forced to leave it, just a few streets and pictures of how it looks. Most of my time was spent in the house that Lionheart had for us. In fact, most of the last day I was at Mistral was spent with me sitting on a velvety red couch waiting for a phone call to let me and Willow know that our ride to Argus Limited, the train that'd take us to Argus, arrived.

For the most part, the trip to the Argus Limited station was much like a regular taxi drive to the train station back in my world. Even the station itself was akin to my world's train stations, right down to gift shops.

"Hey, Willow… Got something for you to commemorate the end of the vacation." I handed her a small bag with a gift inside it. Nothing major, just a gold diamond ring.

"Oh, this is lovely! I'll be sure to open it soon…" To my knowledge, she _still_ hasn't opened the gift.

* * *

It didn't take long before we boarded our ride. The train ride to Argus was just as plain as the train rides in my world, though there _was_ a slight bump…

Or rather several.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some heavy turbulence. Sit tight and stay positive._ " Our conductor said as I suddenly noticed our window's blinds automatically closed to the sound of loud whirring and clanging, followed shortly with cute videos of animals projecting onto the blinds. I made out what looked to be diagonal lines behind the blinds, making diamond pattern bars.

"What the hell?" I muttered as what would normally be the sounds of kittens meowing before their mother were instead replaced with bestial growls and loud gunfire. "I-is this normal!?" A baby cried before the outside noises were drowned out by the kittens' mewing. Willow just held my hand tightly.

"Don't worry. We're going to be fine." She gave me a wistful smile. I looked to the blinds, focusing beyond the video footage and trying to catch a glimpse of the snowy outside…

What was going _on_ out there?


End file.
